Gabriel

by Melissa Meintjes

  After dinner, Gabriel Hatfield and Natasha went to a twenty-four hour clinic together, to find out if either of them carried a deadly virus. As they had needles punched in to them, and blood drawn, they each held each other’s hands. Then they were told to either wait for a phone call or come back in three days. After they had been tested, Natasha told Gabriel that she would love him even if he tested positive, and then Gabriel told her he felt the same way.

  Chapter 48

  Several hours after Celia had dreamed of being Cinderella, Eric arrived home and after hugging her, inspected the house.

  He found it satisfactory and told Celia “thank you. I see you have dusted everything. You also need to regularly polish the wood. It does not seem polished. If I notice my wood fade, I will make you feel faded.”

  Then Celia apologized and told him she would do it the following day. Then she asked “did you bring the heroin?”

  Then he responded “I did.”

  Then she said “I do not want to take any?”

  Then he said “you will do as you are told.”

  Then she responded “no. It is my body.”

  Then Eric responded “Ok,” even though he felt like forcing her.

  She then said “I feel happy, I do not need heroin. I am sleepy though, so I am going to bed.” After kissing Eric on the cheek she walked in to her bedroom. Then Celia took out her sleeping pills and tried to analyze why she wanted to end her life. Had she not always spent her life working hard, she reasoned. What had changed? She asked herself. If anything, she had less work to do now. So she analyzed herself and realized that the thing that had given her life meaning had somehow been stripped away. She realized that her happiness had been composed of two things: a belief in future love, and a slender line of dignity. She understood that she had always slaved for these two things, and now they had somehow been taken from her. She comprehended that the bullying by Eric, made her feel humiliated and took whatever dignity she had left. Then she grasped that she really loved an imaginary man, with the most beautiful face, and heart. She recognized that reality and marriage to Eric had taken him from her. So she contemplated the emptiness of how she now felt and decided to end her life. Then she filled the bath tub full of water, got undressed, sat in the bath tub, and consumed the whole bottle of sleeping pills. As she waited for the sleeping pills to take effect, she became drowsy, and began to go to sleep.

  As Eric chatted on the phone with his friends, he began to get upset that Celia had gone to bed, and thought about everything he had given her, and therefore decided to remind her of her obligation as a wife. So he walked in to the bedroom and found the bathroom door locked. He decided to use a safety pin and open it. Inside he found her fainted in the bathtub. He dragged her out and then called 911.

  The ambulance drove Celia to the nearest hospital, where they pumped her stomach and kept her on stabilizers. She had to stay for observation, because they were not sure if they had gotten it all out of her system. The doctor claimed that there might be some permanent damage to her brain and liver.

  Meanwhile, Gabriel Strife arrived at the Dungeon, and walked in with the permission of the security guard.

  He asked for Celia Rose, and Ralph responded “she is marrying my brother.”

  As Gabriel felt his heart sink, the phone rang and Ralph answered. Gabriel heard Ralph ask “She is in the hospital? She tried to kill herself? What kind of crazy bitch does that?”

  Gabriel felt fear pulse through him as he imagined his beauty lying almost dead in a hospital. As he imagined the possibility that she had been treated badly, he ran out saying “thank you.” As Ralph hung up the phone, he saw Gabriel run.

  When Gabriel Strife arrived at the Los Angeles hospital, he asked the nurse at the front desk if he could talk to Celia Rose.

  The nurse then replied “There is no woman by that name here.”

  Then Gabriel asked “how many other hospitals are there?”

  The nurse responded “this is the main one in this area.”

  Then Gabriel said “please help me, I am looking for my sister. She has red hair and is in her twenties, and she must have been brought here in the last few days. We called her Celia Rose. She might call herself something else now.”

  Then the short blonde nurse responded “yes, as a matter of fact we had a beautiful red head who attempted suicide brought here yesterday. She consumed a whole bottle of sleeping pills. They pumped it out of her, and now we are waiting to see if there are any permanent damages. I will go see if she can have visitors. You can come with me and tell me if she is the one you are looking for.”

  So Gabriel followed the head nurse to Celia’s room, and as he looked at her lying in bed asleep, he said “that is her. Do you know what name she is using?”

  The nurse responded “Yes. Dorothy Clever.” Then Gabriel repeated the name to himself as if it were the most beautiful name in the world.

  Then the head nurse asked “do you want to say anything to her? I don’t know if she will hear you.”

  Then Gabriel responded “yes, thank you so much.” Then he stood by Celia’s bed, and said “Dorothy I found out your name today, and I will treasure it more than any other name for it is your name. Beautiful Dorothy.”

  As he spoke, Dorothy started opening her eyes, and then looked at the most beautiful man in disbelief. She thought she had not awoken for she saw Prince Charming in front of her; the man from her dreams and from her fantasies.

  As she looked at him he said “I am Gabriel, one of your fans. I traveled here from Miami, because you are the most beautiful woman in the world, and I had to find out what you thought of me.”

  Then Dorothy smiled, and groggily responded “I think you are just a dream.”

  Then Gabriel, giggled and said “I wish, because then we could fly out of here. I am real, just as your almost death was sadly real. What made you want to kill yourself?”

  Then Celia responded “I am Cinderella without a fairy god mother.”

  Then Gabriel said “Just because fairy god mothers do not appear right in front of you does not mean they do not exist. Maybe I am your prince Charming and you don’t know it.”

  Then Celia smiled and said “I do know. So will you take me home with you?”

  Then Gabriel responded “If you so wish.”

  Then Celia smiled and said “I do.”

  Then Gabriel told the head nurse that Dorothy had awoken and that she wished to go home with him.

  Then the nurse responded “ok. I think the doctor is coming in later on. When he does he might release her and then I will call you. What is your number?”

  Then Gabriel responded “(305) 753-8624” Then Gabriel asked “can I stay in the room with her unless she wants me to leave?”

  The nurse then responded “Yea sure, I will just check you in. What did you say your name was?”

  Then Gabriel responded “Gabriel Strife.”

  The nurse wrote it down and then asked for identification. Gabriel showed her his driver’s license. When she handed it back, he walked back to Dorothy’s room and sat down in the chair in the corner.

  Dorothy then asked him “what do you do for a living?”

  Then Gabriel responded “I am a manager at a Seven Eleven.”

  Then Dorothy smiled “so you saw all my photo shoots? Which was your favorite?”

  Then Gabriel responded “I liked them all a lot, because your beauty is so profound, but if I had to choose one, my favorite is the one with the Greek God. I think it was the most beautiful.”

  Then Dorothy responded “I agree. I am sure that we will put all the video’s to shame.”

  Then Gabriel smiled and said “I can’t wait. It seems like you are doing much better, and the doctor will probably say you are fine. I hope to get you out of here before your evil step mother returns.”

  Then Dorothy smiled “his name is Eric, he is the masked man from the Dungeon. He wanted to make me his wife, but he treated me more like a prisoner an
d a maid. I hope you are better than that Prince Charming.”

  Then Gabriel responded “I am sure that I am. I have never driven any woman to suicide. I do not plan to start now.”

  Then the doctor walked in and told them that Dorothy would be fine and that she could go home after she spoke to a psychiatrist. The tall dark haired doctor walked out and then a few minutes later a very thin old man called Dr. Baker came in saying “I am the psychiatrist. We cannot release you, unless we feel certain you will not commit suicide.”

  Dorothy then responded “I won’t, I promise, I just felt bad because my employer was sexually harassing me and forcing me to marry him and threatening me with joblessness.”

  Then Dr. Baker asked “how has that changed?”

  Then Dorothy responded “one of my beautiful fans have offered to help me.”

  Then the doctor nodded looking at Gabriel and asked “Do you feel like you want to live, now?”

  Then Dorothy responded “Yes. For sure.” Then the doctor responded “I will release you then. It was nice knowing you goodbye.”

  Then the doctor turned around and asked Gabriel “Is everything she says true?”

  Then Gabriel responded “Yes. I will take good care of her.”

  Then the doctor smiled and said “Nice to meet you. Good afternoon.”

  In response they both responded “Good afternoon.”

  Then the doctor left and told them they could leave. Then the nurse came in with Dorothy’s belongings and gave them to her. Then Dorothy got dressed in front of Gabriel. Then they got up and walked out together.

  Once Dorothy and Gabriel Strife had seated themselves in his small grey rental car, he asked “which way to your house.”

  Then Dorothy responded “we have to go to the police first, because Eric kicked me and slapped me and I am scared of him. I am scared he will hurt you too.”

  Then Gabriel asked “which way to the police station?”

  Then Dorothy responded “just keep going straight.” Then after several minutes she said “turn left.” Then she said “turn right by the white building.” After a few minutes she said “we are here.”

  Then they both got out and spoke to a police officer about the assault by Eric.

  Then the police officer asked “do you have any evidence, for your accusations?” Then Dorothy responded by lifting up her shirt. The police officer then took photos of the bruise on her stomach.

  Then Dorothy said “they also take drugs.”

  Then the police officer sent a cop to arrest Eric. Then the police officer said, “we are charging him with assault and drug use.”

  Then Dorothy said “Thank you.”

  Then they left, and went to collect her things from Eric’s house, and from her apartment. Her things had already been packed, so Gabriel made arrangements to ship them to Miami. Then he made flight arrangements for both of them to return to his home. The following day they got on the flight and arrived in Miami, after eight hours of flying. Exhausted, they arrived and slept.

  Dorothy wanted to make love to him but he responded “Tomorrow after a blood test.”

  The following day they both had blood tests and three days later they got the results indicating that they were both healthy. The moment they found out, they made passionate love. Gabriel Strife loved kissing the woman he had fantasized about so many times. He touched the breasts that had always seemed so exotic and far away. Then he licked the vagina he had seen publicly exposed. He watched her body pulsate to an orgasm, he felt her soft round curves against his body and appreciated the sultry red that had always driven him crazy. He loved smelling her hair, it smelled like vanilla with a hint of cinnamon. He breathed it in, and felt all his senses become intoxicated with her beauty. Then he felt her soft big lips kiss his body all over. She gracefully sucked his penis and then drank his semen, while he came to orgasm. After they finished pleasing each other, Dorothy began to cry.

  Gabriel then hugged her and asked “what is wrong.”

  Then Dorothy responded “I am unhappy because I pleased more men than just you. You have watched me with other men and it disturbs me.” Then Gabriel kissed her, he loved her for caring so much.

  Then he responded “I do not care that you slept with other men. I have slept with other women. I feel closer to you, now that I have watched.”

  Then Dorothy asked “how many women have you slept with?”

  Then Gabriel responded “five in total. You are the sixth.”

  Then Dorothy said “that is not too many. I have slept with ten in total and you are my eleventh.”

  Then Gabriel said “I am man enough to handle that. I feel closer to you through your pornography.” Then Dorothy, smiled, and he dried her cheeks with his hands. Then they hugged.

  After sex, Dorothy and Gabriel got dressed and ate something.

  As they ate their sandwiches, Gabriel said “so Dorothy, I hardly know you, and so I want to find out as much about you as soon as possible, so that I can feel as close to you as conceivable.”

  Then Dorothy smiled and said “ok. How about if I tell you something and then you tell me something.”

  Then Gabriel smiled and responded “that sounds fine.”

  Then Dorothy said “I was born in a trailer park, right outside of Los Angeles. I grew up in that trailer park, with a mother and a father. My mother died of cancer when I was sixteen. I graduated from high school, got a job at Starbucks, worked at a strip club called the Naked Genie, and then eventually started working at the Dungeon.”

  Then Gabriel said “I grew up in Miami. I was born in a hospital, grew up in a little house, attended Florida International University, got a degree in management, and after graduation got a job at a Seven Eleven.”

  Then Dorothy smiled and said “sounds like a charmed life; a life I always dreamed about.”

  Then Gabriel responded “I always took my life for granted, but I guess you make me realize how lucky I am.”

  Then Dorothy smiled and mocked “I am glad my misery had a purpose. I guess it was not that bad, until my mother died from cancer.”

  Then Gabriel responded “I am sorry. I wish I could have met her.”

  As Gabriel contemplated his life, he felt special and happy he could show her things she had not been exposed to before. Such as cable television, exquisite holidays, and a sense of security. She made him feel prouder with her poverty, and as a result he felt like her Prince Charming.

  After several minutes Gabriel asked “what religion are you?”

  Then Dorothy responded “I was taught about Jesus, but I am not a specific religion.”

  Then Gabriel responded “I am an atheist. If you want me to go to church with you I will.”

  Then Dorothy responded, “I don’t really like church. I find it to be full of hypocrisy.”

  Then Gabriel laughed and said “You are smart. I think the whole world is full of hypocrisy. I think we will always just worship at our own temple of love.”

  Then Dorothy laughed and said “Sounds like a great idea.” Then Dorothy blew him a kiss, and he blew one back.

  As they continued to sit in the living room, Gabriel Strife asked Dorothy “Why did you tolerate being beaten up?”

  Then Dorothy responded “I did not have a choice, his family owns the Naked Genie and the Dungeon. He threatened me.”

  Then Gabriel asked “Starbucks does not pay enough?”

  Then Dorothy responded “no. Minimum wage is not enough to live. Corporations often treat people like trash.”

  Then Gabriel asked “couldn’t you have tried to find another job?”

  Then Dorothy responded “there is a lot of job insecurity, and I guess I subconsciously desperately wanted a husband.”

  “Why?” Asked Gabriel.

  Then Dorothy bowed her head in shame and responded “I guess I feel a husband gives me more dignity.”

  Then Gabriel asked “why not another husband, you are so beautiful?”

  Then Dorothy responded
“men often just want to use me because of my job. They often do not take me seriously.”

  Then Gabriel responded “I take you seriously. I know it is just a job. I think you were just taught to hate yourself by society.”

  Then Dorothy responded “I know, but hopefully you will give me back my grace.”

  Then Gabriel responded “your grace? A woman as beautiful as you does not need grace. Grace is born within her already.” Then he hugged her, saying “don’t worry I am not going anywhere.”

  Chapter 49

  As Gabriel Strife contemplated Dorothy’s desperate desire for marriage, he imagined proposing to her but then shrugged it off thinking it was too soon. During lunch at work he went online, to look at his Facebook account. He read some mean messages from Sarah saying “I hope your whore is pleasing you,” and “I hope you are dying of AIDS.” Then he read “she is probably cheating on you.” As Gabriel read the messages he became overwhelmed with hate and irritation. He could not believe Sarah could be so mean. Then he looked up Dorothy Clever on Facebook. He never found any account for Celia, even under her new name. He wondered why she did not have an account, and realized that she did not like being part of mainstream society. So he reasoned that she possessed a shy side, which he considered adorable. As he remembered the brutality of Sarah always exposing her sexual feelings for other men, he wrote back to her “I am sorry that you think we are going to die of AIDS. Most likely you will since you can’t even be satisfied with one man.” Although he had never seen Dorothy’s Facebook account, he felt satisfied with her shy nature, which stemmed from a sense of inadequacy. As he contemplated her fragility he felt satisfied for her absolute dependence on his words and presence in her life. He felt that such a delicate woman could never abandon him; and that although society labeled her a whore, she had represented a fragile breakable woman who could only be healed by his love and therefore had become one with him in a way.

  As Gabriel Strife contemplated how happy he felt with Dorothy, he realized that he did not covet other women the way he had with Sarah. Throughout the day he felt connected to Dorothy. He felt happy because she felt happy, he believed. He felt happy for her growing sense of security and smiled. He felt her grace and dignity slowly growing back and he felt prouder. As he contemplated his emotions which seemed to have become one with hers, he felt an overwhelming desire to save her from any remaining shame she felt. He remembered her saying how much she had suffered just to feel the normality of becoming a wife, and as he contemplated her longing, he realized it matched his own. So he decided to do the craziest thing, and propose for the sake of emotional perfection. So he decided to buy a ring for her, and propose to her during the following weekend.